Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has heaped praise on Sarfaraz Khan, comparing him to legendary Pakistani batter Javed Miandad. Manjrekar’s comments came after Sarfaraz’s impressive performance in the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur.
Sarfaraz, who replaced the injured Shubman Gill in the Indian team, scored a half-century in the first innings and remained unbeaten on 70 off 78 balls at the end of Day 3. Manjrekar was particularly impressed with Sarfaraz’s approach to batting, both offensively and defensively.
“Sarfaraz reminds me of a Javed Miandad of the 1980s but this is a 2024 version of a Javed Miandad,” Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo’s YouTube channel. “Really impressed with the way he played. We know he plays spin well but I liked the way he played fast bowlers.”
Miandad, who played for Pakistan from 1975 to 1996, is considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He scored over 16,000 international runs, including 8,832 in Tests at an average of 52.57.
Manjrekar also praised Sarfaraz’s game awareness, particularly towards the end of the day’s play. “Towards the end of the day’s play, he was looking to play defensively and wanting bad light when there was actually bright light,” Manjrekar said. “I loved the way he was ducking to bouncers, just trying to play the day out so he has that game as well and that augurs well for India and Sarfaraz Khan for Australia because he has shown that element of batting as well.”
Sarfaraz stitched a 136-run partnership with Virat Kohli in the second innings, before the latter departed on the final ball of Day 3. India will resume their innings on Day 4 with Sarfaraz looking to convert his half-century into a century.
